June 12, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

I’m heading away in a few days for seven weeks in Boston! “The Tuesday Writer” will continue from there. Please keep me posted on your writing revelations & news … and send requests for anything you’d like to hear more about in this newsletter.

Talk soon,

e

PROCESS: SURPRISE FOR THE WRITER

Good writing, the stuff that really gets into our body, raising our heart-rate and giving us chills, forces us to discover something new – about ourselves, about our world. And this mirror-trickery, this discovery for the reader, begins with the writer. As a great writing teacher of mine often said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. No tears for the writer, no tears for the reader.”

Try this: Ask yourself a hard life question and then write for twenty minutes. Read back on it, looking for the parts that surprise you most or that elicit the most emotion from you. Focus on crafting those parts into a finished piece.

FEATURED VENUE: HIGH DESERT JOURNAL

High Desert Journal is looking year-round for quality literary work – poetry, fiction, memoir, interviews, book reviews, artwork – that illuminates the landscape and people of the interior West. Also check out their Obsidian Prize for Poetry, deadline August 12.

Submission guidelines here: http://highdesertjournal.com/submissions/

PROMPT

“The power of refusal” (7min)